Post Mortem
by Ravenara
Summary: Raito begins to learn that the afterlife just may be more treacherous than life as Kira. He must face old foes and new ones, as well as deal with the enigma known as L, whom he thought he would never see again.


**Post Mortem**

_Emerge_

He burned. His skin crawled, the intense heat burrowing deep to what felt like his boiling marrow. Curling in on himself, it was vaguely wondered where he was and why he was subjected to such torture. Was this what death really was? Eternal torture? Perhaps it would have been wise to spend more time paying tribute to a higher power than shutting himself up to stick criminals behind bars. No… was this what happened to those who were killed by those who wielded a Death Note?

So much thinking just wasn't possible at the current point in time. Still… it was interesting to think that the first, second and third best detective in the world had been brought down by someone who he'd once considered a _friend_. L, Erald Coil and Danuve had all just been carelessly cast aside - but he wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Ryuzaki had gone into the investigation knowing full well he more than likely wouldn't come out of it alive. He'd calculated a fifty percent chance at the beginning and towards the end of his life it had been bumped up to seventy percent.

But _still_, this was _unbearable_! Suspended by some unseen and unfelt force, Ryuzaki curled up even tighter as if doing so would minimize the pain. Teeth were gritted while femininely long nails dug into the flesh of his arms. It was mounting now, Ryuzaki knew. It would only get worse, and the fact that he was already dead wasn't all that comforting. He'd long since lost track of any sense of time. It could've been ten minutes, ten hours, ten days or even ten years. However long, it was too long.

The liquid fire penetrating every fibre of his being flared, shooting up his spine. Ryuzaki involuntarily threw himself back out of the fetal position as the heat enveloped him. Suddenly he was thrust forward, but at a languid pace like drifting through water. The further he drifted the more the pain lessened, until it was faint warmth.

Ryuzaki finally trusted himself to open his eyes and realized he was slowly approaching a dark opening, the surface of which seemed to be rippling. It would seem that he accelerated so quickly that he felt as if he was hanging out the window of a speeding car - he had done that before.

The unseen and unfelt force suddenly dropped from beneath him and he dropped like a stone. His landing was hard and unforgiving and it elicited a cry from him. Cool air wafted over him and then Ryuzaki concluded that he was in the nude but that was the least of his problems. He ached all over now and he was more drained than he'd ever recalled feeling.

Moaning softly the former detective struggled to right himself, only succeeding in placing one palm on the ground to hoist the left side of his torso. Fingers curled in frustration. A noise to his right alerted him to another presence and upon jerking his head in that general direction all other action ceased.

Beside him, sprawled out on his belly was a male figure, elegantly carved. Cinnamon hair fell to the back of his neck and obscured his eyes. If they were open they would be mahogany, Ryuzaki was sure because the man beside him was none other than Raito Yagami.

It was evident that Raito had survived his own little game for a few years after disposing of Ryuzaki. Raito had the body of a young man now versus Ryuzaki who still remained on the cusp of adulthood. How long had he been in that hell of suspended animation? Furthermore, who succeeded him? Mail? Mihael? Nate? Perhaps no one did and Soichiro-san and the other had completed it themselves. No. Although there was a seven percent chance of it being plausible, Ryuzaki strongly disagreed with that idea.

As assumed, Raito's eyelids fluttered before opening completely, bearing those mahogany depths. Ryuzaki fully remembered the triumphant, sadistic sheen they had as Raito stared down at him in his last moments of life. Strangely still, no anger or hatred or fear was felt, but then again Ryuzaki expected it. He'd admitted long ago that he was childish, as was Kira, but a child would detest or fear the one that so wrongfully did him in. Ryuzaki supposed that was where he and Raito differed.

Recognition flickered in the self-righteous murder's eyes before it spread to the rest of his face. He sucked in a breath and attempted to shift and get up. Raito groaned and squeezed his eyes shut.

"I suppose we're both in the same predicament."

Mahogany hues snapped open once more to stare into dark, almost obsidian orbs. "W-what?"

Ryuzaki noted the deepened voice that came with age. He wasn't exactly sure why, however. "I am dead, and you are too. Similar, yes?"

Raito frowned, effectively ignoring the blatant facts that one, he was conversing in a civilized manner to the boy he'd killed five years ago and two, both of them were naked. "Don't talk like it's all fine and dandy."

Blinking inquisitively, Ryuzaki cocked his head slightly, "Would you rather me act like a child and accuse you of things that are in the past?"

Exhaling through his nose, Raito dropped his head, resting his crown on the cool ground. Meanwhile, Ryuzaki worked on getting himself upright. After a few minutes of occasional grunts he was sitting up - sort of. He was leaning to one side with his legs partially tucked beneath him.

Looking back up, Raito noticed how emaciated his adversary really was. Having always been dressed in a baggy shirt and jeans he never had the chance to see his body structure. He was slim despite the sharp edges of his ribs and vertebrae, almost feminine. Ryuzaki hadn't been joking around when he said his brain used the most calories. He was severely underweight for his height.

"Mmm. Well I know two places where we aren't."

"Hn."

"Earth and the shinigami realm."

Did Ryuzaki have any sense? Well, of course he did. Raito had to admit that as L he was a genius, and in fact, if he hadn't the power of the Death Note the two of them would have been equals. The point was that he was naked and wasn't paying any mind.

"Do you like making a habit of being an exhibitionist?" Was the flat query.

Ryuzaki looked over one bony shoulder, "Mm? I can't do much about it, I don't see any form of clothing around. Do you?" A pause, "In any case, why are you so flustered about it? We have the same body in relativity."

Had… had Ryuzaki just implied something that was not to be spoken of? More than likely.

"It's not like I want to see _yours_." Raito retorted childishly. Why was it that Ryuzaki was almost always able to provoke the most childish parts of him?

In response, Ryuzaki quirked an eyebrow. "Don't look, then."

"But that's the best part!"

The two of them jumped at hearing the grating voice and jerked their attention to the looming, hellish creature hovering over them. It was grinning like an insane Cheshire cat.

"Ryuk!" Raito growled. Ryuzaki simply stared and said nothing.

The shinigami landed noiselessly while chuckling heartily. Kneeling in front of Raito, Ryuk waved his Death Note in the air in front of its former owner tauntingly. "Gimme a couple apples and I might give you another go."


End file.
